He also has a fairly good reason as to why he thinks like this, and he tells so to the inspector;
‘If we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody we’d had anything to do with, it would be very awkward, wouldn’t it?’
When Arthur doesn’t know the full story as to why the inspector has arrived, he tries to use his importance to get his way. He threatens the inspector with the following phrase;
‘I’ve half a mind to report you… perhaps I ought to warn you that… our chief constable… he’s an old friend of mine, and that I see him fairly often’
Arthur doesn’t react at all to the death of Eva, and he acts as though ‘such is life’. When the inspector leaves towards the end of the play, Arthur tries to think of all sorts of idea’s to prove that the man wasn’t an inspector at all, - proving that Arthur didn’t change at all in reaction to the death of one of his former employees.
Sybil Birling is Arthur’s wife. She is very like her husband in being selfish, and is very unrepentant. Sybil finds out that she had something to do with the death of Eva, around the middle of the play. As it turned out, she had actually turned Eva away when she was looking for help. The inspector tries his best to make Sybil realize that what she did was wrong and uncalled for but Sybil reacts by shifting the blame onto someone else;
‘Please remember before you start accusing me of anything again, that it wasn’t I who had her turned out of her employment- which probably began it all’
Sybil did actually have a fairly good reason as to turn away Eva as she used a fake name, Mrs Birling, to get the help. Sybil, believing she was being mocked, had turned Eva away thinking that she had been wasting her time. Sybil, like Arthur, also tried to argue that the inspector wasn’t an inspector at all- also proving that she didn’t change in reaction to Eva’s suicide.
Then there is Sheila and Eric (the children). Sheila is honest, curious, and repentant. Sheila starts off quite pleased with herself and slightly snobbish. She claims to like nice things;
‘I think (the ring) it’s perfect, now I feel really engaged.’ When she finds out that she was also responsible for Eva’s suicide, she apologizes a lot. She squeezes in (where ever she can) that she is totally to blame, along with her father, for starting the chain of events. When the inspector leaves Sheila keeps referring to things that the inspector said. She also claims that she has learnt a lot during the evening that she will never forget. She also builds up her confidence while the inspector interviews her and she manages to stand up to her parents towards the end of the play;
‘…The point is, you don’t seem to have learnt anything…it’s you two who are being childish- trying not to face facts.’
Sheila changes a lot during the course of the play and she doesn’t let herself change back, just because they manage to prove that the inspector was a fake.
Eric’s like his sister. He started off quite pleased with himself and then when the inspector started asking him questions he managed to build up a strong and responsible side to his character. He was honest about what happened between himself and Eva and he was repentant about it.
So… who did change most during the course of the play ‘An Inspector Calls???
Both Sheila and Eric changed the most during the play, and it is mostly recognised by Sybil;
Sybil: ‘You seem to have made a great impression on this child inspector.’
Inspector: ‘We often do on the young ones’
